Midmorning ceased broadcast on February 20, 2012 and was replaced by The Daily Circuit.

Minnesota Public Radio Stories

Teachers or 'widgets'?Effective teachers are the key to student success. Yet our school systems treat all teachers as interchangeable parts, not professionals, according to The New Teacher Project, an organization trying to change the way teachers' performance is evaluated.9:06 a.m.

Guests

Daniel Weisberg: Vice president for policy at the New Teacher Project. He's one of the authors of the report, "The Widget Effect."

Lynn Nordgren: President, Minneapolis Federation of Teachers.

Thomas Toch: Co-director of Education Sector, an education think tank. He has studied and written about how teachers are evaluated.

The 90+ study, Alzheimer's and agingNeurologists at the University of California are studying a group of men and women over the age of 90 for clues on how the brain is affected by aging, and important data on Alzheimer' disease and dementia.10:06 a.m.

Guests

Dr. Claudia Kawas: Neurologist at the University of California, Irvine.